“In the Fields of the North” Opening Reception at The Ag

Join us at the Agriculture Museum on Saturday, June 15, 2019 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. for the opening reception of “In the Fields of the North / En los Campos del Norte“, a new exhibit featuring the photojournalist David Bacon’s evocative, powerful photographs alongside moving oral narratives from migrant farm workers. Admission is Free for members of the Museum, $5 for nonmembers.

The exhibition, fully translated into both English and Spanish, gives viewers a reality check on the food they eat and the lives of the people who harvest it.

“This is photojournalism at its most powerful.”, says Elena Waller, the Agriculture Museum’s Manager. “Bacon’s compelling images of disenfranchised laborers paired with their gripping stories pulls the viewer in the intimate struggles and hardships of the migrant workers who nourish our communities from field to fork. In the Fields of the North puts a face to those that are often forgotten or ignored.”

Traveling with migrant workers as the fruit and harvest season moves from the Mexican border to Washington state, In the Fields of the North / En los Campos del Norte sheds light on some basic questions: How much do we know about the lives of the people who feed us? Where do they live? How does it feel to do some of the hardest repetitive labor imaginable? And, what answers do farm workers themselves have to end their poverty and endless migration?

Photographer, journalist, and activist David Bacon has spent over three decades documenting the lives of migrant workers, building upon his previous work as a union organizer. The exhibition is based upon the book of the same name, recently published by University of California Press. As Kent Wong, Director of the UCLA Labor Center, writes, “Bacon captures the humanity of workers who work each day in demanding physical labor, in the hot sun, and for poverty wages. This is one of the few publications that captures the authentic stories of California farm workers, through their own voices and with the images of their living and working conditions.” Bacon is also the author of The Children of NAFTA, Communities Without Borders, Illegal People, and The Right to Stay Home.

Also opening on June 15, 2019 at the Agriculture Museum is the pop-up exhibit “Farming Youth”. This body of work focuses on the migratory realities of the farm workers whose labor sustains the United States’ agricultural economy relies on millions of people countrywide; often undocumented men, women, and children working extensive hours each day to make a meager living wage. Curated by Erika Hirugami, MAAB, this moving exhibit focuses on Martinez’s latest body of work, “Campesinos y Colores”. The series reveals the harsh realities phased by the Latinx farming communities of the United States today.